Davus pentaloris, commonly called the Guatemalan tiger rump, is a terrestrial species of New World tarantula (family Theraphosidae) native to El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. Davus was at one time considered to be a synonym of Cyclosternum, and its species were placed in that genus, but this is no longer accepted.[1]
D. pentaloris has been found to display high morphological variation across its widespread distribution.[2] Due to the typically low dispersal capability of tarantulas and associated high levels of local endemism this led to a hypothesis of hidden diversity within the species, with the high morphological variation suspected to be evidence that D. pentaloris is actually a species complex.[3] Morphological and molecular analyses employing mtDNA data led to the recognition of 13 clearly diagnosable species, with 12 of them being new to science.[3]
Tiger Rump Tarantula spotted in Jayaque, La Libertad (El Salvador)
Description
D. pentaloris has a copper-colored carapace, with black legs and a black, copper-striped abdomen. The number and vibrancy of stripes varies, but it features a spot on its abdomen, towards the cephalothorax.[3]
This species has urticating hairs on its abdomen, which it may kick into the air at perceived threats.[4]
Its coloration can range from a coppery color, to a more orange hue. Morphological variations which separate some candidate species, that are naked to the eye, include: dark marks on the carapace, and pale leg marking/coloration.[3]
In captivity
D. pentaloris is kept and bred as a pet, but is frequently mislabelled and sold as D. fasciatus.[2] Its lifespan in captivity is understood to be 2-4 years for males, and 8-10 years for females.
It is known to be skittish but docile, and easy to keep in the trade.[5]
Following the 2021 paper detailing the morphological diversity and 13 diagnosable species within D. pentaloris,[3] various vendors have begun to sell and breed specimens under open nomenclature, such as Davus sp. "Oaxaca" (or "Oaxaca white tiger") for light-legged specimens, as is common in the trade for species which have yet to be formally described.
1 2 Gabriel R. (2016). "Revised taxonomic placement of the species in the Central American genera Davus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1892, Metriopelma Becker, 1878, and Schizopelma F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897, with comments on species in related genera (Araneae: Theraphosidae)". Arachnology. 17 (2): 61–92. doi:10.13156/arac.2006.17.2.61. S2CID88749325.
1 2 3 4 5 Candia-Ramírez, Daniela T.; Francke, Oscar F. (2021). "Another stripe on the tiger makes no difference? Unexpected diversity in the widespread tiger tarantula Davus pentaloris (Araneae: Theraphosidae: Theraphosinae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (1): 75–104. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa107.
E. Simon (1888). "Etudes arachnologiques. 21e Mémoire. XXIX. Descriptions d'espèces et de genres nouveaux de l'Amérique centrale et des Antilles". Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 6. 8: 203–216.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
